A genre of fiction actually about scientistshttp://www.lablit.com/about
about LabLit.com
'LabLit.com is dedicated to real laboratory culture and to the portrayal and perceptions of that culture – science, scientists and labs – in fiction, the media and across popular culture. The site is intended for non-scientists as well as scientists, and the goal is to inform, entertain and surprise (see the launch Editorial for more information).
'LabLit.com is edited by Jennifer Rohn, who has fifteen years of scientific research experience in the fields of virology, cell biology, cancer and gene therapy and an incurable addiction to science-related literature.
Please feel free to make a proposal or to contact us with questions or comments!
Novels, films, plays and TV programs in the Lab Lit fiction genre
Last updated: 18 March 2006
http://www.lablit.com/article/12
'This list is in its infancy and will be a continual work-in-progress – we would like it to be comprehensive. If you think we’ve missed something, you can nominate your favorite book/film/play here, with a brief description of why it deserves to be included. (Don’t forget that 'lab lit' is not synonymous with ‘science fiction’; read this for the full working definition. Briefly, ‘lab lit’ fiction depicts realistic scientists as central characters and portrays fairly realistic scientific practice or concepts, typically taking place in a realistic – as opposed to speculative or future – world. The action does not have to take place in a laboratory per se, just anywhere where scientists are doing what they do, such as a field station. Although some science fiction does indeed have elements of ‘lab lit’, and the boundaries can be fuzzy, this list is meant to feature real scientists in the real world. Those that deviate slightly from this definition, or are cross-over works, are annotated as such.)
Do you feel passionate about one of the works of fiction on this list? Then please help us out by submitting your brief review for publication. We would like to feature as many reader reviews as possible, even if the works in question are not new, to help people decide which they might like to try themselves. The format is flexible and the reviews needn’t be long; all opinions are welcome!
Editor's note added 18 March 2006: We are still sifting through the growing pile of nominations inspired by the recent mentions of LabLit.com in Science and Nature (download the latter for free here). So look out for more new titles in the near future, and thanks for keeping the ideas coming!
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Novels
Paper by John McCabe
Black comedy/thriller: A disgruntled biochemist is threatened by boredom, boss and vial of phenol
Carbon Dreams by Susan M. Gaines
Drama: A female geologist struggles with career and love in California
Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis
Drama: A scientist/medic leans the hard way that pure research is more noble – and cures plague in the process
Mendel's Dwarf by Simon Mawer
Black comedy: A megalomaniac achondroplasiac geneticist studies his own disease
Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd
Drama/Thriller: Mathematics meets malign chimps – Jane Goodall with a twist
Gold Bug Variations by Richard Powers
Drama: Love, music, art, literature, DNA coding and computers in one heady intellectual mix
etc etc etc
